Beard assigned to Clinton Correctional Facility

It was a sensational killing that gripped the imagination of the local community and drew national media attention.

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Michael Beard, of Elmira Heights, is escorted out of the Steuben County courthouse after being sentenced to life in prison for murdering Kelley Clayton in 2015.(Photo: Kelly Gampel / Staff Photo)Buy Photo

Clinton is the facility two convicted killers escaped from in June 2015, including David Sweat, who was serving a life sentence for killing a Broome County sheriff's deputy.

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision instituted several reform measures following the escape and a scathing report from the state inspector general that outlined lax security at the prison.

Thomas Clayton(Photo: STEUBEN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE PHOTO)

Mark Blandford, the man who acted as a lookout for Beard the night Kelley Clayton was murdered, is scheduled to be sentenced April 17.

Blandford was originally charged with second-degree murder, but agreed to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Clayton's husband Thomas.

Thomas Clayton was convicted of first- and second-degree murder Feb. 23, following a nearly seven-week trial. Prosecutors said Clayton set up the murder and promised to pay Beard to kill his wife.

Bradstreet will sentence Clayton on April 24. He also faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.